Imperial Public Library - Imperial County adult literacy still a challenge Learning to read in the Imperial Valley

Imperial County adult literacy still a challenge

Learning to read in the Imperial Valley

Imperial Valley Press: 2.20.2014 by Heric Rubio

When Monica Woo came to the United States from Korea 15 years ago, the English language was as foreign to her as the country she was arriving in.

Even after becoming a citizen, it still took the El Centro resident a run-in with immigration officers before deciding to take on the task of learning the language.

“Two years ago I went to Korea and when I came back, immigration asked me what I had to declare, and I couldn’t answer,” Woo said.

So with the help of Adult Literacy Services at the Imperial Public Library, she embarked on a mission to not only speak, but read English as well, a decision that she says has left her feeling happier and more confident.

With the most recent Imperial County statistics available showing an illiteracy rate dangerously close to 50 percent, stories like Woo’s could likely be found throughout the Valley.

Last conducted in 2003, the National Assessment of Adult Literacy is a representative assessment of English literacy among American adults age 16 or older, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

During the assessment, 41 percent of Imperial County’s population at the time was lacking basic prose literacy skills; almost triple the national rate of 14 percent.

Prose literacy is the knowledge and skill to perform tasks such as searching for, comprehending and using information from continuous texts.

If the results of a 2013 U.S. Department of Education and National Institute of Literacy study of adult literacy in the nation are reflective of what individual counties look like, then those numbers haven’t changed much in the 10-plus years since the last NAAL.  READ MORE !

Adult Literacy Awareness Month - Imperial Public Library - Imperial County Library

Adult Literacy Awareness Month

September Spotlight

on SCLLN Literacy Programs

L.E.A.R.N. Imperial Valley

Libraries Empower All to Read Now

To provide student-centered assistance, at no cost to the participant, to all adults seeking help with basic reading and writing skills. To provide volunteer tutors with the training and resources needed to support each student's individual goals. To work with libraries in the Imperial Valley to educate our communities about literacy and the issues surrounding it.

We serve Imperial Valley adults over 18 (or 16 if not enrolled in school) who would like to improve their reading and writing skills.

Imperial Public Library

We need compassionate, patient volunteer tutors who are motivated to give back to their local communities by working individually with adults who would like to improve their reading and writing skills.

By volunteering with LEARN Imperial Valley, you can make a difference in someone's life and help build stronger communities.20% of Imperial Valley residents struggle with reading and writing because of learning disabilities or because they did not get the individual instruction they needed as children, in school or at home.